Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 21, 2026
Application No. 19/274,638

RETURNABLE PACKAGING AND FRESH PRODUCT DELIVERY SYSTEM USING PACKAGING STATE INFORMATION

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Jul 20, 2025
Priority
Oct 12, 2020 — RE 10-2020-0131420 +5 more
Examiner
VOLZ, ELIZABETH J
Art Unit
3733
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Thermo Lab Korea Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 6m
Est. Remaining
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allowance Rate
740 granted / 1110 resolved
-3.3% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
1171
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
42.4%
+2.4% vs TC avg
§102
31.1%
-8.9% vs TC avg
§112
22.4%
-17.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1110 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding Claim 2, line 9; it is unclear what is meant by “a PCB”. Claim 4 recites the limitation "the peripheral protruding portion" in line 7-8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barfoot et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20210053725) in view of Dearing (U.S. Pub. No. 20200143322). Regarding Claim 1, Barfoot et al. discloses a packaging 50 (Figure 1) comprising: a main body unit 60 (figure 1) comprising a sidewall portion (figure 1) comprising a first sidewall (figure 1), a second sidewall (figure 1), a third sidewall (figure 1), and a fourth sidewall (figure 1), a bottom portion (Figure 2) connected to a lower end of the sidewall portion to form a bottom (Figure 2), and a coupling portion 76 (Figure 2) formed on an upper end of the sidewall portion (Figure 2); a cover unit 70 (figure 2) coupled to the coupling portion to cover an upper surface of the main body unit (Figure 1), the cover unit comprising a receiving portion (paragraph 33). Barfoot et al. does not disclose an electronic paper display panel comprising delivery information. However, Dearing teaches an electronic paper display panel comprising delivery information 120 (figure 1A, paragraph 33). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Barfoot et al. to include the above, as taught by Dearing, in order to allow for easily determined information to be displayed/changed. Applicant is duly reminded that a complete response must satisfy the requirements of 37 C.F. R. 1.111, including: “The reply must present arguments pointing out the specific distinctions believed to render the claims, including any newly presented claims, patentable over any applied references. A general allegation that the claims “define a patentable invention” without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references does not comply with the requirements of this section. Moreover, “The prompt development of a clear Issue requires that the replies of the applicant meet the objections to and rejections of the claims.” Applicant should also specifically point out the support for any amendments made to the disclosure. See MPEP 2163.06 II(A), MPEP 2163.06 and MPEP 714.02. The ''disclosure'' includes the claims, the specification and the drawings. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH J VOLZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5430. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-7pm est. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHAN JENNESS can be reached at (571)270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ELIZABETH J VOLZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 20, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12767408
FLUID CONTAINER WITH FOLDED INTERNAL POUCH
4y 4m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12767435
CONTAINER COVER AND DIAPER BUCKET
2y 2m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12765562
MULTI-LEVEL BAKING PANS
2y 0m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12759785
Convertible Shipping Container
2y 3m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12759764
CONTENT CONTAINER
1y 9m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
67%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+19.0%)
2y 9m (~1y 6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1110 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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